Last minute love: DIY Valentines/ Galentines cards

If you bring it back to basics, greetings cards are about sending a message; letting someone know you’re thinking about them. And I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that you don’t have to spend £3.50+ to do that!

If you’re a cynic like me, you’ll think that Valentines Day is basically just a commercial holiday to fill the gap between Christmas and Easter. No amount of chocolates, roses or jewellery will ever be able to show how much you really love a person. And it’s a bit weird to have a day dedicated to love – what about those 364 other days in a year? BUT anyway… I’m not a totally heartless bitch, I promise.

I don’t LOVE Valentines Day, but I am a fan of sharing love and making other people feel good. One of the simplest ways to do that is to tell that special person by making a card. I’m aware that I’m posting this the day before V-Day, but I just wanted to let you know that THERE’S STILL TIME! You can do this in 10 mins whilst you’re waiting for your tea to brew or your soup to warm up on your lunch break.

All it takes is a piece of paper/card, a couple of pens and, most importantly, your imagination:

It doesn’t need to be fancy. It doesn’t need to be vomit inducing-ly cheesy (although, I love a bit of cheese). It JUST needs to put a smile on their face and a warm fuzzy feeling in their belly.

2. Use your brain – think of something that they’ll love. Do they like pizza? (You’ve got a Pizza my heart) Do they like tea? (You’re my cuppa) Do they like weird? (I like your face) Do they like swear words? (I fucking love you) …you get the idea! If you’re super stuck then just google Valentines puns or put your own spin on something classic (Roses are red…).

3. Make it pretty– you don’t have to be super handy with a paintbrush to make it look amazing because it’s a hand made card after all (I think a bit of colouring outside of the lines is kinda nice)! Think about using the cliche heart in a new way; in a pattern (polka hearts), on a large scale (cut the card into a heart shape), as a balloon, with a face? Limit yourself to a few colours if you’re getting too scared – it’ll look like you had planned a colour palette all along.

4. Own it – everyone else just went to a shop and bought a card that 1000 other people bought. You made something unique with your own hands, woo!

And remember it’s ALL about love, so spread it! Even if you don’t send a physical card, send an email because there is no excuse. Oh and of course I want to see your creations so make sure to tweet me.

P.S. This is a super last minute post. I’d originally planned to Instagram my cards but I dropped my phone down the toilet (yes, I’m an idiot), so I turned it into a blog post instead because I really wanted to share my designs ha